The ambition? By 2027, 100% of cultural actors will measure the environmental impact of their events or productions (source<\/a>). Among the initiatives is the \u201ccarbon framework\u201d approach, which enables certified cultural organisations to measure their emissions and receive guidance in reducing them collectively, as well as the CACT\u00c9 <\/a>scheme (mandatory for all structures that have signed a three-year or longer agreement with the ministry). CACT\u00c9 provides a suite of tools to support artistic creators and facilitate dialogue with financial partners in building a shared sustainability strategy. <\/p>\n\n Since 1 January 2024, CNC production support for live-action works has required both provisional and final carbon assessments for the production phase. As of 1 March 2025, this obligation has been extended to digital works such as video games and animation. Are immersive works next on the agenda? Not yet, says Leslie Thomas, Secretary-General of the CNC <\/a>in charge of environmental responsibility. <\/strong>\u201cFor now, we don\u2019t have a mature tool to measure the impact of immersive creation.\u201d These new requirements are being developed hand-in-hand with sector professionals, she explains. \u201cWhen we began looking into animation or video games, the industry unions had already started working on the subject and had financed the initial development of a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Environmental concerns are nevertheless very present in the immersive field. In 2022, XR professionals Landia Egal and Amaury La Burthe began examining the impact of their activities. \u201cWe realised there was no data at all,\u201d recalls Landia Egal. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know the environmental impact of manufacturing headsets, networks, data centres. There was no assessment\u2014neither of the present nor potential future scenarios.\u201d Through the France 2030<\/a> \u201cGreen Alternatives\u201d programme, they secured funding to collaborate with experts such as Marie-V\u00e9ronique Gauduchon<\/a> (carbon accounting), Beno\u00eet Ruiz<\/a> (low-carbon strategies for cultural and creative industries), Benjamin Ninassi<\/a> (INRIA \u201cDigital & Environment\u201d programme), and teams from The Shift Project. In February 2024, the group published CEPIR <\/a>\u2014 Case Study for Responsible Immersive Creation, one of the most comprehensive studies<\/a> to date on the carbon footprint of the immersive sector. <\/p>\n\n Due to resource constraints, CEPIR focuses on virtual reality (VR). The results of the life-cycle analyses (LCAs) are alarming. Manufacturing a VR headset and its two controllers requires nearly 281 kg of raw materials (extraction of mineral, metallic, and fossil resources)\u2014\u201c333 times the final weight of the device\u201d, the report warns. Producing this same hardware also consumes around 100 m\u00b3 of water\u2014equivalent to the annual consumption of two French citizens\u2014and an average of 27 litres of oil, matching the CO\u2082 equivalent of 350 km travelled by car. Successive headset generations, combined with new immersion-enhancing technologies\u2014backpack PCs, multidirectional treadmills, 360\u00b0 VR cameras (8 lenses instead of one), haptic feedback devices, etc.\u2014further increase this impact. <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Other technologies\u2014video mapping, domes, etc.\u2014were not included in the study. Nor was artificial intelligence, which had not yet undergone the boom of LLMs and image generators at the time CEPIR was launched. Yet these technologies are unavoidable in immersive creation and would need to be analysed within a broader study. The structural challenge is clear: such research can only be supported by public funding. For this reason, the \u201cGreen Alternatives 3\u201d call for projects under France 2030, expected at the end of 2024<\/a>, will likely never materialise\u2014a missed opportunity to expand research across the sector. <\/p>\n\n To assess environmental impact, the core tool is the carbon calculator. CEPIR produced a first prototype calculator<\/a> for XR, but it was never deployed at scale due to a lack of human resources. At the CNC\u2014already responsible for certifying multiple calculators for cinema\u2014the roadmap is clear: define technical specifications, then evaluate and approve (or not) the calculation tools proposed by various stakeholders, in consultation with domain experts. Calculators help establish sector averages, map trajectories, and build strategies to reduce impacts, explains Leslie Thomas. In the video game world, the National Consortium for Video Games and the Environment<\/a>\u2014a loose collective of environmentally engaged companies <\/em>\u2014launched Jyros<\/a>, developed by the Game Only association<\/a>. Partially funded through France 2030 \u201cGreen Alternatives,\u201d the tool cost around \u20ac700,000 to develop, estimates project lead Geoffrey Marmonier. \u201cGathering data was extremely difficult. Video games sit at the intersection of two worlds: often forgotten in cultural reports or drowned within wider digital-sector metrics.\u201d Some researchers are nonetheless studying the issue, such as Australian scholar Ben Abraham, who estimates the sector emits 40\u201350 million tonnes of CO\u2082<\/a> equivalent per year\u2014comparable to the annual emissions of Norway or Switzerland. <\/p>\n\n Developed with the transition consultancy I Care<\/a>, Jyros includes the full emissions scopes<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Four indicators are taken into account: CO\u2082 emissions and climate impact, use of abiotic natural resources (mineral materials), impact on water, and primary energy consumption. <\/p>\n\n For now, eco-conditionality only requires the submission of carbon assessments. The CNC has no intention of enforcing results-based obligations, says Leslie Thomas. First, the calculations are highly complex and inherently imprecise. More importantly, \u201cwe are dealing with a prototype-driven economy. There is no standardised structure. Works vary greatly in cost and scale. It\u2019s difficult to compare one project to another.\u201d The CNC prefers an incentive-based approach. In May 2025, during the Cannes Film Festival, it announced a \u20ac28,000 RSE+ bonus<\/a> for the most environmentally responsible live-action productions. <\/p>\n\n If eco-conditionality is not (yet) on the table for immersive creation, is the sector preparing for it? \u201cIt depends,\u201d says Landia Egal. It will still be necessary to get on board. Beyond the requirements set by the CNC \u2014 a public funder, as other institutions can be \u2014 the question is also how private funders, such as producers, banks, or insurers, will align their support with the obligations of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). This European directive, although currently weakened by ongoing reforms<\/a>, requires large companies to publish an annual report on their sustainability performance. Its goal is to increase transparency on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. In the film sector, major funders who have already embraced ESG commitments are already imposing certain environmental requirements on productions in order to secure necessary funding. Eco-conditionality could therefore come through regulation via finance \u2014 at least, that is the bet of Flying Secoya<\/a>. This platform enables entertainment professionals (including XR) to implement a low-carbon approach and meet the requirements of financial partners. <\/p>\n\n Elsa Ferreira<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since the start of 2025, CNC production support for certain digital works has been subject to an eco-conditionality criterion\u2014meaning that applicants must calculate the carbon footprint of their project. Immersive works are, for now, exempt from these requirements, although the first building blocks are already in place. Is the sector preparing for eco-conditionality? Here\u2019s what you need to know. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[41,43],"class_list":["post-5411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expert","tag-ecology","tag-economy","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5412,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions\/5412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What About Digital Creation Structures?<\/h2>\n\n
The Ecological Cost of XR<\/h2>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/making-of-2.png\")
The Calculator: The Heart of the System <\/h2>\n\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jyros-2.png\")
A Soft Form of Eco-conditionality<\/h2>\n\n
The Obligations of the CSRD<\/h2>\n\n